Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. Purchases New Holdings in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 64,976 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,314,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. City Holding Co. increased its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 444.4% in the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,225 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. SWAN Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the third quarter valued at $27,000. NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 201.0% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,764 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ ARCC opened at $18.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.88. The company has a market capitalization of $12.93 billion, a PE ratio of 9.68 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Ares Capital Corporation has a 12 month low of $17.40 and a 12 month high of $23.42.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.50. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 42.56%.The firm had revenue of $793.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $795.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel acquired 12,500 shares of Ares Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.13 per share, with a total value of $239,125.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $774,765. The trade was a 44.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott C. Lem acquired 5,186 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.29 per share, with a total value of $100,037.94. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 39,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $761,241.27. This trade represents a 15.13% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ARCC. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, December 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.38.

Ares Capital Company Profile

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCC) is a publicly traded business development company (BDC) that specializes in providing debt and equity financing solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC, Ares Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of tailored credit investments, including senior secured loans, unitranche financing, mezzanine debt and equity co-investments. The firm’s flexible capital structures are designed to support companies seeking growth capital, refinancing or strategic acquisitions.

Through its credit platform, Ares Capital focuses on originations, underwriting and portfolio management across a range of industries, with a particular emphasis on sectors such as healthcare, technology, industrials and business services.